Monday, July 17, 2006

Yesterday, I mentioned the new Saudi song that everyone in the Middle East seems to be humming.

Dan Riehl has taken further and broader notice of those choosing to sing harmony in this catchy new tune:

The Arabs, led by Saudi Arabia, have condemned Hezbollah. A decade ago the only reports we’d be seeing would include pictures of mobs in the Arab Street shouting “Death to Israel”. As tragic and possibly far from over is the current conflict, there has been movement in what amounts to glacial forces over the last decade and since we invaded Iraq.

The only hope that ever existed for bringing down the state infrastructures behind the world’s worst terrorist organizations (Iran and Syria) had to start with driving a wedge into the Middle East — a region that has been more monolithic in its pro-terrorist, anti-American and anti-Israeli rhetoric than any other over the last fifty years.

The current news may be tragic, as it is, after all, news of war — but, so far, depressing it is not. If current positions by the majority of nations hold, we have crossed the ultimate Rubicon that needed to be crossed in order to finally bring peace to one of the most troubled regions of the world.

Not just Egypt, but now, through their rhetoric and led by Saudi Arabia, the majority of Arab nations have indicated a willingness to peacefully co-exist with a secure Israel. There hasn’t been so profound a shift, or moment in contemporary world events since the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

Current headlines should give us pause, as no one really wants a war to take place; but there’s more reason for optimism in today’s news from the Middle East, then there is rationale for being depressed.

Why even President Bush has joined in the singing, adding a needed tenor to the chorus. Here’s his solo part, as reported by Agence France Presse:

US President George W. Bush, caught on an open microphone at a summit here, said Monday that a key to defusing the Middle East crisis was for “Hezbollah to stop doing this s**t.”

“What they need to do is get Syria to get Hezbollah to stop doing this s**t, and it’s over,” Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a leaders’ lunch at the Group of Eight industrial countries gathering here.

The president was on camera but apparently unaware that his words were being captured by a microphone.

AFP adds, as an aside, that “It was unclear who ‘they’ were.” But that’s a journalist for you…always the last person in the room to get it. And note that AFP has to repeat the President’s bon mot, just in case you missed it the first time. Whoowee - there goes that crazy Christian using bad language…obviously a hypocrite, right?

Back in the late ’80s or early ’90s Saffire, the Uppity Blues Women did a song titled How Can I Miss You When I Can’t Get You to Leave? Seems to me that Lebanon must be singing this one to Hizbollah by now - in fact, the real, true patriotic Lebanese have been singing it for years, but Hizbollah is deaf from all the rockets they’ve fired. Well, they were tone deaf to begin with anyway.

Atlas Shrugged has a video clip from Fox as the President gives forth this wisdom to Tony Blair. Unfortunately, he’s eating a roll at the time, so the audio isn’t clear, and Fox bleeped it to boot. However, you can hear one of the Fox news anchors cheering Bush on for his statement.

Barbara Bush probably had her hands full trying to train George not to talk with food in his mouth. On the other hand, do you recall the exchange between Bess Truman and the press, when they complained about President Truman’s “rough” talk? Bess parried by telling them it took her years to teach him to say “manure.” I doubt Laura’s working on that one, though. Sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade, and sometimes you have to shovel what’s filling up the stall.

One thing is for sure: President Bush isn’t looking for a pony in the midst of the steaming piles that Hizbullah and Hamas have created.

6
comments:

Nothing un-Christian about s**t. After all, he didn't say "this G**-Damned s**t". I remember form previous Bush "slips" - it won't shock the base, although the Kos kids will insist they should be shocked - it will get more play in foreign media than here - and it just shows that he is just who he appears to be, whether he knows the mike is on or not. If character is what you do in the dark (who said that?) political character is what you say when you don't know the microphone is live.

concerning the non-s**t part of the post - let's all keep in mind this new song is a positive development. Yes, they do happen. Consider this quote from your previous post:

"The Saudi official said Hezbollah’s actions could lead to 'an extremely serious situation, which could subject all Arab nations and its achievements to destruction. The kingdom sees that it is time for those elements to alone shoulder the full responsibility for this irresponsible behavior and that the burden of ending the crisis falls on them alone.' ”

"on them alone" - let's just savor that. The Kingdom is not accusing Israel (in this statement anyway) of disproportionate response - they are laying all the culpability at the feet of Hezbollah, which is way more than Annan or the Euros are willing to do. I know about the Shia/Sunni thing: I still agree that this looks like a sea change (into something rich and strange).

2 Hezbollah is the strongest political party in Lebanon. Under a democratic system it would have a majority of seats in the Lebanese parliament. Lebanese parliament is organised so religious groups vote for seats in proportion to the most recent census, the most recent census being the one carried out in 1932. The parliament regularly defers taking a census as this would alocate a majority or at least a plurality of seats to the Shia, the Shia Hezbollah regularly ignores the parliament.

At least Bush isn't confused by The State Department, and he is capable of plain speaking in Putin-Land............so another microphone picked up Bush plain-speaking............at least the SVR will have another copy for reference !